Taking Risks With Jesus

Today, we’re diving into the topic of taking risks—both the literal kind, and the kind that stretches our faith and challenges us to trust Jesus more deeply. If you tuned into our last episode, you might remember Becky casually dropped a bomb about living out of a van for a year. We sort of left you hanging on that one, so today, we’re picking up that thread!

First, let’s define risk. According to the dictionary, risk is:

1. The possibility of loss or injury: peril.
2. Someone or something that creates or suggests a hazard.

On the flip side of risk, we have safety, something we value far more highly in our culture. We live by sayings like, “Better safe than sorry.” And if we’re honest, most of us build our lives around minimizing risk—whether it’s keeping our jobs stable, our retirement secure, our kids safe, or our finances sound. We create comfort zones, and venturing outside of them is something we rarely do.

But here’s where it gets deeper: it’s not just about taking risks with our lives; it’s about taking risks with our faith. How many of us push back when the Holy Spirit nudges us to share something with a stranger? Or when we’re called to take a bold step with a friend? Instead of trusting that nudge, we often retreat back to what feels safe. In doing so, we rob ourselves of the gift of living a daring, adventurous life with the Holy Spirit.

Becky Shares Her Story:

So, let me back up a bit and tell you how I ended up living in a van for a year.

• How it all started: I had more conventional choices, safer choices, but I felt God calling me to something different.
• Hardships on the road: There were moments when it felt like everything was going wrong. My brakes nearly gave out while crossing a mountain pass. Another time, I had only $23 in my bank account, and the job I was counting on got delayed. Once, a creepy guy peered through my van window in the middle of the night. And then there were times when a group of strangers set up camp right outside my van.
• How Jesus showed up: Despite all the risks and fear, Jesus met me every time. There was one specific time when a woman at Home Depot said something that confirmed exactly what Jesus had been speaking to me. That kind of risk, being vulnerable enough to trust him in the uncertainty, was something I could never have learned by staying safe.

The Risk Muscle

Here’s the thing: working that risk muscle changed everything for me. The more I trusted Jesus in risky moments, the more I built an iron-clad trust in him. Living in that van didn’t just teach me about minimalism and adventure—it taught me that when Jesus invites us to take a risk, he always shows up. He doesn’t promise it will be easy, but he promises he’ll be there.

The Bible itself is a story of God’s relentless pursuit of us, this daring, risky adventure of him never giving up on us—even when we turn away. And he took the ultimate risk when he sent Jesus to die for us, trusting that we would choose him in return. Time and time again, God shows us through the Bible that his heart is bent toward risk and faith.

Becky & Steph Share Biblical Risk Stories

Steph and I are going to alternate sharing some of our favorite risk stories from the Bible, where people trusted God enough to take a risk that seemed completely irrational, yet God showed up in powerful ways:

• Peter walking on water (Matthew 14:29): Peter had to step out of the boat in the middle of a storm. He literally took the risk of sinking, but as long as his eyes were on Jesus, he walked on water.
• The widow and Elijah (1 Kings 17:12-15): A widow risked her last bit of oil and flour to feed Elijah during a famine. She had nothing left, but her obedience and faith led to God miraculously providing for her and her son.
• Abraham and Isaac (Genesis 22:1-14): Abraham was willing to march up a mountain, believing God was asking him to sacrifice his own son. The risk? Losing everything. But God provided a ram at the last moment.
• Moses and the Israelites at the Red Sea (Exodus 14): Can you imagine standing before a sea, with an army closing in behind you, and trusting that God would somehow make a way? The Israelites took that risk—and God parted the waters.
• The Battle of Jericho (Joshua 6): Marching around a city for seven days with nothing but trumpets might not sound like a strategy for victory. But that’s exactly what God told Joshua to do, and it was that risk that led to the walls of Jericho falling.
• Rahab helping the Israelites (Joshua 2): Rahab risked her life when she hid Israelite spies in her home. Her fa